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heathercottledillon's review against another edition
4.0
I always love reading books that are set near the place where I grew up, and Woodrell does an amazing job of portraying lower-middle-class life in the Ozarks. I love the way he writes with the slang and bad grammar that's typical in this area but weaves some beautiful imagery and unique metaphors into it. This story plainly demonstrates how desperate and unfair life can be in poor rural areas--in some ways, the situation is similar to that of the inner city. I also like that the author makes his point about stereotypes and bigotry without beating readers over the head with it. This is the first Daniel Woodrell book I've read, and I'll definitely be checking more of them out.
boxxieboo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
annevoi's review against another edition
3.0
The writing is virtuosic (at times annoyingly so), the characters definitely flawed, the story, such as it is, rather pointless. In the end, I didn't much care for any of the characters. There's no overcoming circumstances here. I wavered between 2 and 3 stars, but I'm just not sure I did "like" the book.
sandin954's review against another edition
4.0
Dark, gritty story set in a small Ozark town featuring the kind losers whose lot in life seems preordained no matter what they do. I can see why this book was so highly praised as lyrical, authentic, and the like but for some reason the story and the characters just did not engage me like I thought they would considering that I have really enjoyed the author's previous work.
briandice's review against another edition
5.0
Unreal.
Just finished reading this aloud to my wife - we are both sitting here stunned by the book, especially the ending.
GritLit hardcore. More thoughts after I wipe the tears from my cheeks and drink a 40.
Just finished reading this aloud to my wife - we are both sitting here stunned by the book, especially the ending.
GritLit hardcore. More thoughts after I wipe the tears from my cheeks and drink a 40.
jamesdanielhorn's review against another edition
4.0
A low down dirty romp in the grit lit sack. I enjoyed the hell out of Tomato Red, and I’m not totally sure why. The characters felt very real to me. Maybe I’ve just been around enough people like this to know them, or maybe I see myself in them, but regardless, I really felt immersed in their world. This is where Woodrell truly succeeds here.
The book does have a couple of minor flaws keeping it from reaching classic status, particularly the descriptions of sex, which felt goofy to me, and a few sentences made me cringe, but I chalked them up to the narrator’s personality, and moved right along.
The book has been described as tragicomic by other reviewers, but I did not find much humor about it; it’s mostly bleak with some touching moments, and a sprinkle of brutality. Ultimately this mix made me want to read other books in Daniel Woodrell’s oeuvre, in hopes of finding more of what I had here. Read it if the above sounds appealing and you’ve got the stomach some depravity.
The book does have a couple of minor flaws keeping it from reaching classic status, particularly the descriptions of sex, which felt goofy to me, and a few sentences made me cringe, but I chalked them up to the narrator’s personality, and moved right along.
The book has been described as tragicomic by other reviewers, but I did not find much humor about it; it’s mostly bleak with some touching moments, and a sprinkle of brutality. Ultimately this mix made me want to read other books in Daniel Woodrell’s oeuvre, in hopes of finding more of what I had here. Read it if the above sounds appealing and you’ve got the stomach some depravity.
rocketiza's review against another edition
4.0
Southern noir is the only noir aside from Chandler that I enjoy.
tasharobinson's review against another edition
3.0
Still working my way through a stack of Daniel Woodrell. This one didn't hit me as powerfully as The Death Of Sweet Mister, in part because it seemed less focused on one fascinating character with a unique inner life and a really ugly dilemma, and in part because the narrator's very stylized voice was distancing and distracting for me. Looking at any one paragraph on its own, I loved it: This is extremely creative and colorful writing where no simple statements are made, and the narrator never approaches anything directly and head-on, though he's a direct, head-on kind of guy. (This collection of quotes gives some hints about the writing style.) It's beautifully crafted—but trying to read it for the what-comes-next of the story was a slow, deliberate, not entirely compelling process, and the story itself feels like it could stand to be expanded. It still keeps striking me, though, how well Woodrell creates different voices and makes every book feel radically different even when he's fundamentally writing about the same things: back-woods, poverty-stricken, proud young people trying to get by.
liznc's review against another edition
2.0
Country noir with beautiful and colorful writing but I just couldn’t get invested in the characters.
dave37's review against another edition
5.0
Second favorite Woodrell after The Death of Sweet Mister. Again, not an uplifting book, but dark, rich, quirky, and beautifully written.